The Things We Do
by Mothball-Milkshake
Summary: Haruhi has once again decided that the SOS Brigade is severely lacking in the experiences of their culture. How will they cope when dragged to a convention, and forced into ridiculous outfits? Mild BXB. Written for Manifest 2009 FanFic Competition.


Disclaimer – I don't own The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi franchise, any of the characters, or scenarios. Haruhi and all related characters are the property of Nagaru Tanigawa. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made, thank you.

It was a relatively ordinary day as Kyon made his way up the never-ending hill in order to get to school. Honestly, why hadn't his parents sent him to the school at the bottom of the hill? It would certainly make walking there much easier. Although he was thankful that it wasn't too hot today, nor was it raining. A small upside to what promised to be a tiring day, if Haruhi had anything to say about it.

As he neared the school, his friend, Taniguchi, caught up to him, and they involved themselves in a short conversation about school work and their love-lives – or lack thereof – before being forced to split up as the bell rang, signalling that students were to head to their lockers and collect their books for first period.

Kyon looked at his timetable, sighing in annoyance. Chemistry. Why had he chosen this subject, again? Oh, right, because Haruhi had demanded it of him. She claimed that there was some use in being able to blow things up. So far, the class had been a severe disappointment, for both of them. The most exciting thing they'd done was spray some chemicals over a Bunsen burner, and watch the flame change colour. It seemed their senile old sensei kept forgetting whether their class had done the experiment, which was the reason for them having done it five times already.

"Kyon~!" a far too energetic voice greeted from behind him. Without even turning around, he knew who it was.

"Looking forward to class? Maybe sensei will actually let us do something entertaining today, huh? Not likely…the old bat can hardly even remember where she puts her glasses each lesson!" the bane of Kyon's existence continued talking. He turned around to see Haruhi smiling contentedly, humming as she rummaged through the mess in her locker.

What's gotten you in such a good mood today, Haruhi? Are the rest of the club going to suffer for it?

"It's down the bottom. Under the maths books," he helpfully said, and was rewarded with an annoyed glance for his troubles.

"Yes, I knew that," she muttered, her previously good mood apparently evaporating. "I was just trying to kill time so we don't have to spend too long in form group, stupid Kyon."

Kyon rolled his eyes. Naturally, of course that was what she was doing. Right.

Closing his locker as the second bell rang, he turned away from Haruhi, unwilling to get into an argument, but noticed that she immediately picked up her humming again as she cheerfully slammed her own locker shut. Doing anything with even half the enthusiasm she displayed on a day-to-day basis would be impossible for her.

She followed him merrily into their form room, making them late enough that they just barely made it for Kyon's name to be called out, and as soon as her own was, the bell rang. The form sensei was too slow in marking the roll, as usual, and made a useless attempt at getting the students to stay in the room whilst he finished.

Kyon's tired shuffle along the corridor didn't seem to faze Haruhi as much as usual, she just hugged her books to her chest and trotted along in front of him, doubling back when she got too far ahead, still humming that irritating tune. Finally, to stop the humming, Kyon spoke up.

"Why are you so cheerful today?" he muttered. "Apart from the fact that it's Friday, so the weekend is tomorrow. Nobody should have this much energy in the morning."

She winked at him and tapped her nose.

"Cheerful? I'm not cheerful, what are you talking about?" she beamed, her grin practically splitting her face in half. He sighed, unwilling to play this game with her today.

I suppose I'll find out at the club meeting today anyway, won't I?

* * * * *

"Good afternoon, Asahina-san," Kyon greeted the small girl dressed in a maids outfit. Mikuru smiled at him and held out the teapot.

"Hello, Kyon-kun! Would you like some tea?" Kyon's heart melted at her adorable and polite manner of asking.

You know, you don't actually have to do that yet, Haruhi isn't even here.

"Of course, you always make my favourite," he answered, dumping his bag next to one of the hard chairs by the table and taking a seat.

"Kyon-kun. It's nice to see you today," Koizumi smiled, already setting up an Othello board.

"Yo," was the one worded reply from Kyon, far different than his manner of just a few moments ago. He didn't bother greeting Nagato – she seemed comfortable in her corner and he didn't want to disturb her reading. Besides, he wouldn't get a response, so why bother.

"Would you like a game?" his attention was drawn back to Haruhi's proclaimed 'mysterious transfer student'. Koizumi smiled up at him, his unrelenting gaze forcing Kyon to uncomfortably accept the invitation. He lazily laid down one of his pieces, turning Koizumi's over as he did so.

"Suzumiya-san seems to be in an awfully good mood today," Koizumi attempted to start a conversation.

Right, and I'm sure you don't know anything about that, do you?

Kyon shrugged noncommittally.

"I must confess, I have some idea as to what's caused it-" this actually managed to spark the tiniest amount of interest in Kyon. "But I'm unwilling to say anything as of yet. Besides, we'll find out soon enough, right?" he grinned.

As fast as it had appeared, the interest Kyon had in the conversation dissipated.

The room lapsed into silence, broken only occasionally by Nagato turning a page in her book, the clack of a game piece, or by Mikuru fiddling around with her crockery or refilling teacups.

As Kyon was beginning to think that their club leader was not going to show up, the door banged open – denting the wall, surely.

"Hi-ho~!" the obnoxious voice of Haruhi greeted them all. "Sorry to have delayed you for so long, I had to collect some things!" she beamed, sending a wave of unease over Kyon. Whenever Haruhi had to collect 'some things' it never turned out well.

"Our club has been completely deprived of our own underground culture!" she announced.

Oh no.

"But, you should be happy to know that I have recently made plans to amend this. There's a convention in town, and we're going to it, tomorrow!" Haruhi grinned around her, gauging the reactions. Nagato stared at her, expressionless. Mikuru seemed shocked, and the teapot she was holding slowly slid out of her hands, Mikuru just barely managing to retain her grip. Koizumi smiled at her, unwaveringly, and Kyon, well, Kyon seemed to have developed an unhealthy twitch over his left eye.

"Kyon~ close your mouth, you'll get flies in there otherwise!" Haruhi warned, noticing his disbelieving expression.

"A convention?" Koizumi inquired, politely. Haruhi opened her mouth to answer, but to her surprise, it was Kyon who spoke up first.

"An anime convention, I assume?" he asked, nodding to himself when she smiled. "It is a…gathering, sort of, for otaku – that is, people who like anime, or manga, or videogames. I've been to a few, but not for ages. I usually only go for the merchandise."

A look of understanding passed over Koizumi's face, although Kyon didn't want to think about the implications of that, considering who he 'worked' for.

"Kyon's right, although he could have been a bit happier about it," Haruhi conceded. "And of course, we're going to enjoy this to the full!" she perked up again.

"If you mean CosPlay, I refuse," Kyon stated. Haruhi narrowed her eyes at him.

* * * * *

"Fine, fine, I'll do it!" Kyon was surrendering ten minutes later.

When Haruhi had begun stripping him, Mikuru had shrieked and run out of the room, whilst Nagato seemed to have no idea anything was going on. Koizumi had stared at him with an almost thoughtful expression on his face, which was rather unnerving.

Haruhi released Kyon's arms from behind his back and allowed him to shrug his school shirt back on. Buttoning it up, he felt acutely uncomfortable. Not because of Haruhi in the room, but because of Koizumi's scrutiny.

Not bothering with his tie, he shrugged his blazer over the top.

"I can't believe…that was…" he spluttered incoherently, as Haruhi smirked at him. He scowled.

"If I may, what characters are we to be…uh…'CosPlaying'?" Koizumi asked, smiling at their invasive commander.

"Wolfram and Yuuri!" she announced importantly. "Mikuru-chan will go as Anissina, Yuki-chan will be Giesela! And I am going to be Cecile!"

Kyon racked his brains for any memory of these characters, and drew a blank.

"What kind of anime have you got us CosPlaying from, Haruhi?" he asked accusingly.

"You probably haven't heard of it. It's just a little something I've been watching for a while now~" she answered in an annoyingly superior tone. "I have the costumes right here, too!" she held out the paper bags that had lain unnoticed under the table until now. Kyon eyed them warily, worried at what he would be forced into.

* * * * *

This isn't so bad, Kyon mused, holding up the Gakuran in front of the mirror. Perhaps Haruhi had chosen a simple high-school anime that he hadn't heard of yet. He looked at the wig doubtfully, sure that it was to be uncomfortable, but nowhere near as bad as the contacts were going to be. He was not looking forward to putting them on in the morning.

At least nobody is dressing as the opposite gender, he reassured himself, having checked with Haruhi to ensure that was the case many times over, that afternoon.

Trying to recall the last convention he had been to, Kyon realised that it was at least two years ago. Things must surely have changed a lot since then, although he still expected to see girls in yukatas, or their school uniforms. He was deep in thought about the girls he had seen in Harajuku the other day, and wondered whether that style would be picked up, when his sister ran into the room.

"Kyon! Can you help me with my maths homework tomorrow?" she asked cheerfully. He sighed in annoyance, both at Haruhi and at his sister.

"Not tomorrow. I have something to do," he answered, folding up the 'costume' and putting it on his bookshelf, for the morning. His sister 'humph'ed at him and left the room. Checking his watch, Kyon decided to do a small amount of last minute research into the character he was supposedly CosPlaying.

Ten minutes later, he was satisfied that he knew enough, and was pleased at what he had found. Demon king, huh? Interesting. That at least sounded impressive. Not thinking it necessary to look up his other character relationships, he shut down the web page and computer, thinking it wise to get an early night, considering the day Haruhi had probably planned for tomorrow.

* * * * *

It was a good idea, heading to bed early, as his phone went off at 6AM the next day.

He awoke to the sounds of the distinct – and loud – notes of one of his favourite songs, Bouken Deshou Deshou. It was by his favourite artist, and for a moment he lay in bed, sleepily listening to the song, before realising that it was going to wake the rest of the house. He cursed himself for his inability to turn the phone off at nights, and threw his covers aside, stumbling out of bed and trying to remember where he had left the offending electronic device. Locating it on his desk, he tripped over his jeans, stubbed his toe, and answered the call.

"Kyon! What took you so long to answer?" the voice demanded, and he groaned inwardly.

Don't I even get a hello? Apparently nobody ever taught you proper phone etiquette.

"Am I late? Did I sleep in?" he asked groggily, looking at the time. "What – Haruhi, it's 6 in the morning! You said we're not meeting until 7!" he hissed, conscious now of the fact that yes, anybody else in his house would be asleep.

"Well of course, but you need time to get ready and get down to the station!" she answered brightly.

"All I have to do is put on a school uniform and a wig-"

"And contacts!" Haruhi interrupted.

That was a good point, actually. He'd never worn contacts before, so it might take him a while to get them in. Of course, he wasn't going to admit that to Haruhi.

"Whatever. And it takes me about ten minutes to walk to the station. I have an insane amount of time!" he finished.

"Better too much than too little, right!" he could almost hear her wink. "Remember your camera, Kyon! And money!" he rolled his eyes. Of course he wasn't going to forget them, he'd been to one of these things before. "Oh – and the last person to arrive gets a penalty!" she didn't allow him time to respond before hanging up. He stared at his silent phone for a few seconds, before sighing and flipping it closed.

Wait, did she say the station? Are we catching a train…in costume? He wondered, unwilling to make a fool out of himself in public. He could be even more thankful that the costume was not elaborate.

Rubbing his eyes, he sorted out the order in which he'd have to get dressed this morning. Honestly, putting so much thought into clothes was ridiculous. He decided on pants, top, shoes, wig, contacts, and set to work.

It was only when he got to the wig that he hit a snag, wondering how best to tuck all his own hair underneath. Musing on the problem as he pulled the wig from its bag, a headband fell into his lap. He closed his eyes in annoyance. Certainly, that would work, but did Haruhi have to make it a bright yellow one?

* * * * *

His eyes were still watering even as he walked towards the train station, and things were a bit blurry. He assumed that he would get used to the contact lenses as the day progressed, but for now, they really were giving him a lot of grief.

He checked his watch, pleased to find that he was a whole five minutes early. Surely Haruhi couldn't punish him for that.

As usual, when it came to Haruhi and her ideas of justice, Kyon was wrong. He spotted the SOS Brigade, which wasn't difficult – they were the only ones at the station at this time of the morning on a Saturday, let alone in costume – and was immediately even more grateful about the nature of his costume.

Koizumi was wearing what appeared to be some kind of military outfit, and had apparently gone blonde overnight, Nagato had on some kind of white outfit and a long green wig, Mikuru looked absolutely adorable in a long-sleeved and frilly dress – having not had to wear a wig for her character, she was the only one not occasionally tugging awkwardly at her hair – and Haruhi was flashing her assets in a skimpy black dress and blonde wig.

Expecting to be reprimanded, Kyon was beyond shocked when Haruhi jumped on him, in what appeared to be an overly energetic hug.

"My, how cute you look! And so nervous, too!" she exclaimed, in a voice far different than her own. His mind was set at ease, however, when she hissed into his ear; "You better try and stay in character today, Kyon. And I'll think of your punishment later. Right now I'll take it in the form of an IOU."

Kyon looked awkwardly over her head and nodded at the other members of their strange brigade.

Eventually, Haruhi let go. "A dismal performance! I expect you all to be on your best character behaviour today – that means SMILE, Kyon!" she announced, giving them the once over. "At least the costumes are good!" she added with a grin, and led them towards the just arriving train.

Other train-goers gave them strange looks, which weren't helped by the fact that Haruhi was giving a motivational speech of some sort. Kyon wasn't paying attention.

"Kyon!" Oh dear, Haruhi had noticed. "Stupid Kyon!" she said again, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Remember, call us by our character names – if, as I expect Kyon has done – you have neglected to do your research, we shall have a short reminder session now!" she punctuated this by pointing at herself.

"Cecile! But you can call me Cheri-sama." She winked.

"Giesela." Nagato answered as Haruhi pointed at her.

"Wolfram!"

"A-Anissina!"

"Yuuri." They rattled off in turn. Kyon rolled his eyes. More and more people were starting to stare at them. He wished he had taken to seat at the opposite end of the carriage – at least his outfit wouldn't attract attention.

"Our stop!" Haruhi announced suddenly, as the train slowed. Kyon picked up his bag and looked out at the station – he had neglected to ask where they were going.

Sighing as he recognised the popular area of Harajuku, he followed the rest of his group onto the platform.

* * * * *

"I knew we should have come earlier," Haruhi frowned, upon seeing the line outside their venue.

Kyon looked at his watch. "Well, it's only a quarter to eight. This thing doesn't open until nine," he muttered, making himself comfortable on the pavement at the end of the line.

Haruhi glared at him, before wandering off to look at the other CosPlayers. Koizumi sat down next to him, pulling out a book to read.

"I thought something like this might happen. I came prepared," he smiled, blinking a few times as he opened his eyes again. The contact lenses, Kyon noticed, weren't causing as much trouble as they had earlier. He yawned – it really was far too early to be awake. Looking around, he noticed several costumes from a new anime he had been watching, some of which looked quite impressive. He made a note to take a photo later, when they were already posing for somebody else. Kyon wasn't willing to ask for a photo.

* * * * *

Kyon awoke to the unpleasant sensation of Haruhi smacking him on the arm with her bag.

"Kyon! Don't fall asleep!" she said, annoyed. He blinked, and cringed immediately afterwards. Falling asleep whilst wearing contact lenses was not a good idea. Speaking of which, when had he fallen asleep, anyway?

"I guess it was too early for you, huh?" Koizumi grinned, his voice coming from somewhere in the vicinity of Kyon's left ear. He started, realising that he had apparently been resting on Koizumi's shoulder. How embarrassing – it could have at least been Mikuru.

"I hope you don't mind, but some girls wanted to take photos of you while you were asleep. I said it was okay," Koizumi informed him, much to Kyon's chagrin.

He focused his attention on Haruhi's wakeup call, instead.

"Weren't you the one who insisted we call each other by our character names, _Cheri-sama?_" he asked her, grinning inwardly when she returned a glare.

"How insolent. Fine. Do whatever you like, _Yuuri_," she answered. "But stand up, it's five to, and the line is about to start moving.

Kyon complied, dusting off his trousers as he did so, and his jaw dropped as he saw the huge line that had formed behind them. Amazing, so many people had shown up today.

"Excuse me…Mr Yuuri?" a small girl asked. It took Kyon a moment to realise that she was talking to him. "Can I have a photo? Of you and of your friends?" she continued timidly. Remembering what Haruhi had said about smiling, he did so.

"Sure!" Kyon answered, grinning widely. He was pleased at the fact that his character seemed to be the leader of their troop. Hah. That would show Haruhi.

As the girl ran off, he blushed. Somebody had just asked for his photo. Perhaps this whole CosPlay thing wasn't as bad as he had thought.

* * * * *

Shuffling forward a few more steps put their group inside the doors, and they were greeted with a wave of noise. Kyon looked around for the ticket desk, and saw with relief that they were only a few people away from it. Finally. After standing outside for more than an hour, he was almost ready just to give up and go home. Although the people asking for photos or even hugs was rather enjoyable.

"Excuse me!" what looked like one of the officials, or a volunteer, at the least, was standing at the front of the line, shouting over people's heads with a microphone. The noise died down. Kyon wondered whether she was going to announce that no more tickets were left, and that they'd have to go home.

"If I could have everybody's attention, I would like to announce-" she waited until everybody in the vicinity had his or her attention focused on her. "That I LOST THE GAME," she finished. Kyon was confused as the other officials laughed, and the crowd behind him let out a collective groan, with some people shouting good-natured complaints at the girl, who stood down from the step she was on, beaming.

"I don't get it…" he muttered. Clearly he had avoiding these things for far too long.

"It's simple," a man in front of him turned around to explain. Noticing Kyon's wary look, he grinned. "Don't worry, I just overheard you. You see, there are only a few rules to the game – everybody is playing the game, and if you see, hear, or think the game, then you lose the game. Subsequently, I JUST LOST THE GAME," he shouted the last part to a response of "again!?" and "Not fair!".

"I see," Kyon answered. It certainly seemed amusing, although, as with most things like this, it was bound to get tiresome.

"Kyon!" Haruhi was tugging on his sleeve. If he didn't already hold his nickname in low regard, by the end of the day he was going to be downright sick of it, what with Haruhi shouting at him every two seconds.

"What?" he asked in annoyance, only to see her point impatiently at a free registration table, to which their group headed.

"Concession, or full- oh, you're in CosPlay," the official greeted them, looking up from the computer. "Go on through, there's no charge for CosPlayers."

Kyon raised his eyebrows. This was new. Unless it had always been like that, and he'd just never noticed. He followed the group into the main hall, where everything else seemed to be connected to, and started to make a beeline to the door leading to the merchandise area, before Haruhi grabbed his collar.

"What? This is your costume, I wouldn't want to ruin it," he snapped, turning around to see a horde of young girls standing and grinning at him.

"Yuuri-kun!" "Wolfram-chan!" came the high-pitched and terrifying screams.

"More pictures, apparently?" Koizumi smiled, coming over to stand beside Kyon. Kyon sighed, but couldn't help feeling a smile twitch at his features.

One of the older girls in the pack, who looked to be about 15, boldly stepped up to them. She nodded a greeting to Haruhi, who appeared affronted at being ignored.

"Yuuri. Wolfram." She greeted them; obviously referring to them by their characters – which Kyon still hadn't gotten used to.

"I would like to ask if you two would perform some fan service?" she continued, raising her voice. The girls – and a few boys, now – behind her, started clapping in some kind of rhythm.

"Fan service?" Kyon asked, nonplussed. Certainly, he had watched anime with fan service in it before, although he couldn't see how the same could be applied to himself and Koizumi…unless…

Tuning into the chanting that had picked up, drawing the stares of several passers-by, his eyes widened.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" their 'fans' were yelling relentlessly, clapping in time. Koizumi grinned and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well, Kyon – or should I say, Yuuri. I will if you will," he stated, a slight predatory note to his voice – although that could have been Kyon's imagination.

"It is for the fans, after all," he continued. Kyon had developed that twitch above his eye once more.

"Haruhi!" he rounded on the girl behind him who had collapsed with laughter. She grinned, putting a finger to her lips, and stood up. Kyon stood back, confused as to what she was planning now.

"And, split!" she announced, and immediately took off. Kyon opened his mouth to shout after her, before noticing that Nagato had disappeared completely, and Mikuru was dashing through the door to the games hall, giggling – for once, apparently enjoying herself with one of Haruhi's mad schemes.

"This is why you don't come late," Koizumi informed him, grabbing his hand. The last thing Kyon saw before the Esper forced him into a run was the flash of cameras behind him.

* * * * *

Kyon sat through an episode of some anime he knew little about, but would take this nice, quiet, dark screening hall over the hustle of outside, any day. He and Koizumi had ducked in here once they had given their 'fans' the slip, and had been in hiding successfully for a good twenty minutes.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the show was about to end, and that the room was to be utilized for the conventions' 'yaoi panel' – whatever that was. Kyon wasn't exactly eager to find out.

As they exited, Kyon was once more accosted by Haruhi's well-endowed form, in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank goodness I've found you. These bags are getting heavy. Carry them," she demanded, shoving the said overladed bags into Kyon's arms. He scowled at her.

"I'm not following you around with your ridiculous purchases. Go cloak them," he answered. Haruhi's eyes lit up – evidently, she had never thought of the option that somebody else could look after her bags for her, and she didn't have to do a thing.

Despite his protests, Kyon found himself following her to the cloakroom with her bags, Koizumi following along dutifully behind them.

"You know, I'm almost jealous of Wolfram…disappearing into that poorly lit room with you…perhaps I should whisk you away somewhere, Yuuri," she announced, in a surprisingly carrying voice.

Koizumi's sharp eyes noticed several of their earlier fans watching them, and came up with a retort. "Mother! That's completely inappropriate! He is my fiancé, after all."

The girls watching them grinned slightly, evidently at some kind of in-joke that only those who watched the anime would understand.

Wait.

Fiancé?

"But we're both guys! Aren't we? I can't be engaged to a guy!" Kyon protested, quite honestly. He deeply regretted not doing his research now, although he should have assumed Haruhi would be watching an anime like that.

"Oh, don't be silly. You're an absolutely adorable couple," Haruhi answered, shoving her shopping into the arms of some poor, unsuspecting volunteer, and taking the ticket offered to her carelessly, shoving it down the front of her dress. Kyon forced his eyes to stay on her face as she did so, although it was difficult.

A grin spread across her face. "In fact, I've just though of your penalty. You-"

Panicking at what Haruhi might force him to do, Kyon looked around at the slowly gathering crowd in front of them, and recalled something from earlier in the day.

"I lost the game!" he shouted, relieved as Haruhi's order was lost in the sound of groans and complaining. Noticing her look of fury, he saw a gap through the people, and bolted.

* * * * *

Kyon could be found half an hour later, contentedly engaging in a two person fighter game, with some spotty fourteen year old, who was complaining as Kyon's character beat his to a bloody pulp on screen. In retrospect, he probably should have chosen a less obvious place to hide.

As the screen flashed 'Game over – player 1 wins', Kyon vaguely wondered where Nagato had gone. Occasionally they had computer software companies at these things, so it was quite possible that's where she had wandered off to.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I take this seat?" a girls' confident voice came from his right, and Kyon smirked, turning around to tell her not to waste her time. It was then that he saw a familiar face giving him a cocky grin.

"M- Asahina-san!" he exclaimed, surprised that she hadn't run home yet. She winked at him, picking up the second controller.

"Hello, Kyon-kun. I must confess, I think I'm having entirely too much fun playing the role of this character," she blushed, focusing on the screen as the music announced their battle was about to begin. Kyon felt quite bad for her, and was considering going easy on her, until-

"Round 1 – Player 2 wins!" the computer announced. Kyon looked over at Mikuru in shock. She returned his look with an innocent grin, and nodded once. He sighed. Somehow, Kyon knew this wasn't going to turn out well for him.

* * * * *

"Game over – player 2 wins!" the game was shouting ten minutes later. Kyon gaped at the screen. Mikuru beamed.

"Come on, surely you could do better than that? Pathetic man!" she announced, before winking at him, ensuring that he knew she was only acting in character. A few onlookers sniggered at this; evidently aware of the anime they were CosPlaying from.

"Found you~" a less friendly voice came from behind him. Kyon sighed, noticing Mikuru's apologetic look. He raised his eyebrows quizzically, and she shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I needed to keep you busy…" she explained, standing up. Kyon followed her lead, dreading what he was about to see when he turned around. Indeed, the games hall had been overwhelmed with females – most of the poor boys in there looked distinctly uncomfortable. And of course, at the head of the group, stood one face Kyon could never mistake, no matter what kind of costume she was wearing.

Koizumi stood beside her, hands on his hips, glaring in his direction.

Really, you don't have to listen to her. There's no reason to stay in character, you know.

"What are you doing, running off with her?" Koizumi asked, pointing at Mikuru. She smiled at him.

"I swear, I was only using him to test my new invention. Your brother seems to be nowhere to be found, after all," she answered, leaving Kyon absolutely confused.

Before he had known what was going on, Nagato appeared beside him, holding some kind of needle. The crowd gasped.

"Pardon me, your highness, but Cheri-sama has asked me to do this," she said blankly, evidently unable to get entirely into her character, other than reciting lines.

Don't stab me…

Haruhi winked at him. "We can't have you rejecting my son, can we? After all, I'm sure he'd be very hurt if his fiancé were to run off on him again."

The girls tittered in anticipation, and Kyon's eyes darted to the door. It was closed, and there were too many people in his way, anyway. How unfortunate. He sighed. No escape.

"Wolfram, show these girls who our darling Yuuri belongs to," she commanded. A strange glint came into Koizumi's eye, immobilising Kyon with shock as the other boy stepped towards him. He barely registered the squeals and clicks of cameras, his mind so stunned that he could do nothing but stand there as a pair of lips was pressed against his. In his daze, a few thoughts penetrated his mind.

First, there was the thought that Koizumi's lips tasted salty – probably from the heat inside the building – although it wasn't an unpleasant taste.

Second, it registered that his eyes were closed, and that he wasn't entirely repulsed by this experience. Curses, his body was betraying him.

His third and final thought was the fact that people were taking photos of him kissing another male, and it was only this thought that forced him to pull away. He blinked around in a daze, causing more exclamations from their fans to erupt.

"Oh, how cute!" "Isn't Yuuri just adorable?" "Go Wol-chan!"

Kyon wasn't aware exactly how the rest of the day passed; he wandered through it in a state of bemusement, still pondering the events in the games room. He did buy a few things, but ultimately just followed Haruhi around, waiting to go home.

* * * * *

Groaning as he slid out of the previously comfortable, now hated, school shoes and sitting down at his computer, Kyon was grateful to finally be home. He would unpack in the morning, right now all he wanted to do was get out of his costume and get some sleep.

Half undressed, and in the process of browsing the conventions' website for anything he had missed, he froze.

There were _pictures._


End file.
